The silence in the car was making the situation even more awkward and uncomfortable for Emily.

However, other than sitting in silence there was nothing that she could do to change her current situation.

Every now and then she and Leo, who was sitting on the passenger seat, were exchanging quick glances with each other.

Only Mark was the one who looked completely oblivious to the heaviness that was present inside the car, even though he was the main culprit behind this situation.

They stayed in the same state until the moment the car stopped in front of a huge mall.

It was not until Emily was standing right in front of the mall that she realized that the building in front of her was none other than one of the two most popular and biggest shopping malls of the city - Star Xander Mall.

"You can express your amazement out loud if you want. After all, you are about to set your foot inside the grand Star Xander Mall." Leo said as he came forward to stand beside her.

Emily gave a quick side glance to her youngest brother but did not say anything.

It took five minutes before Mark was standing with them after parking his car.

Emily only prepared herself for the marvelous sight that she was going to witness inside the huge building but little did she know that what surprised her the most was not the grandeur of the mall, rather, it was the way every single staff member reacted towards both of her brothers.

"Master Mark, Master Leo!" 

"Good evening, Young Masters!"

"Wow! Am I dreaming or something? I can't believe that I'm seeing the two young masters of the Alessandro empire. Oh my!"

"Ssssh! Don't be so loud! Master Mark doesn't like this kind of behavior from the staff."

One after the other, Emily kept hearing whispers and greetings from the staff members of the Mall.

Both Mark and Leo were walking like they were some kind of Princes of the country while she looked like a confused toddler who was as lost at that moment as possible.

She wanted to ask her brothers exactly what was going on. Was it possible that her brothers were so popular that every single staff member of such a grand Mall knew them by their mere presence?

Even though by now she was more or less aware of the superiority, power, and influence that her family, more like her brothers, held over the city, but what confused her was that only the staff members of the Mall recognized her brothers at first, the customers only started paying attention to them after they heard the commotion created by the staff.

She came out of her thoughts when a man in a dark royal blue suit came towards Mark and bowed his head in greetings.

He was almost in his late thirties but the way he greeted both Mark and Leo only increased her confusion.

"I think you are well aware of the fact that the Alessanddros are not that fond of such type of unwanted attention. Is the staff that free?" 

Mark's voice was loud enough to ring throughout the compound making the staff immediately disappear from the sight.

The man in the dark royal blue suit looked as pale as if he had seen a ghost as he hurriedly apologized before he too disappeared from their sight.

Just when Mark and Leo were about to start walking again, Emily found her hands grasping their arms to stop them.

Her hand which was grabbing Mark's black blazer immediately retracted as his deep piercing eyes glared at her.

To save herself from his wrath she turned her focus towards her youngest and one of her tolerable brothers.

She did not need to voice out her question because the moment Leo looked at the frown that was plastered on her face, he knew what was bothering her.

A small twitch appeared on his lips as he pulled her along with him before replying to her unasked question.

"Wanna know who's the boss of the grand Star Xander Mall?" 

Emily has her own doubts about what would be the answer to Leo's question. However, to confirm her doubt she hurriedly nodded her head.

Leo stopped at the bottom of the accelerator that would take them to the second floor before he turned to face her.

"It's none other than your Guardian. Welcome to the tour to one of the reasons why the Alessandros are well known by the people of this city." 

Emily was starstruck for a few seconds as she absorbed this new information. It was just as she predicted. No doubt, her brothers were well known by the citizens.

A sigh left her lips as she started following the two of her brothers.

They were on the third floor when Mark led them inside a room that looked like a cozy waiting room which was beautifully decorated.

He turned to look at Emily as he said, "I'll be heading towards the top floor due to an important business while Leo needed to grab a few things. In the meanwhile, you can stay here and rest. Joy will accompany you. If you need anything, all you need to do is to ask Joy for it. Don't venture out on your own. We will be back soon."

Emily immediately nodded her head as she turned to look at the young man in a dark black suit who was standing by the door.

Somehow, she did not realize that there was someone who has been following them all this while.

As both Leo and Mark left the room, she settled down on the sofa that was placed in the center of the room.

Her current situation reminded her of the very day when she encountered Rylan for the very first time.

And following that memory, she remembered the bruise that magically disappeared from her back.

She was completely unaware of the tsunami that was about to wrack her life in just a few moments.